Maharashtra State Board explained, for parents
Maharashtra state school curriculum - MSCERT, Balbharati and MSBSHSE
Maharashtra State Board is made of three distinct bodies. MSCERT designs the curriculum, Balbharati produces textbooks, and MSBSHSE conducts the exams - but only at Standard 10 and Standard 12. This structure explains why Marathi has become required in every school in the state, no matter which board the school operates under.
In one paragraph
Standards 1 to 5 take a first language, a second language (commonly English), Mathematics and EVS - Parisar Abhyas - taught as one combined subject right through Standard 5. Marathi itself must be taught as a compulsory, non-graded subject in every school in the state, Standard 1 to 10, under a 2020 Act, whatever the school's board or medium of instruction. EVS splits into three separate subjects - General Science, History & Civics and Geography - from Standard 6, a finer split than CBSE's single Social Science. Seven media of instruction are recognised: Marathi, English, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Sindhi and Kannada, alongside a distinctive 'Semi-English' option in which Marathi-medium schools teach Mathematics and Science in English.
Maharashtra State Board is three separate bodies, following the same pattern as Karnataka's DSERT, KTBS and KSEAB. MSCERT (the Council of Educational Research and Training) develops curriculum and syllabus. Balbharati (formally the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research) writes and prints textbooks. MSBSHSE conducts examinations at just two points: Standard 10 and Standard 12. Understanding this split explains why Marathi is now compulsory even in CBSE and ICSE schools, and why the state's third-language policy has been genuinely in flux as recently as 2025.
Who actually runs primary schooling in Maharashtra
Three bodies, three distinct jobs.
- MSCERT - the Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training - sets the curriculum, the syllabus and the learning outcomes, and trains teachers. It began as a State Institute of Education in 1964, was upgraded and given its present name in 1984, and was redesignated a Vidya Pradhikaran - an educational authority - in 2016. Its remit covers curriculum development, textbook development and setting benchmarks for educational quality.
- Balbharati - formally the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research - writes and prints the textbooks. It was established on 27 January 1967 by the state government specifically to improve school textbook quality and keep them affordable. It now produces books for Standards 1 to 12 across every medium the state supports. Its digital library is at ebalbharati.in.
- MSBSHSE - the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education - conducts the examinations, and only two of them: the SSC (Secondary School Certificate) at Standard 10, and the HSC (Higher Secondary Certificate) at Standard 12. It was established on 1 January 1966 under the Maharashtra Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Boards Act, 1965, and conducts exams through nine divisional boards - Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Kolhapur, Amravati, Nashik, Latur and Konkan.
None of these bodies examines Standard 3, 4 or 5 children. If your child's school gives her a "state board exam" in primary school, that paper was set by the school itself, not by MSBSHSE.
The language rules - one settled, one still being settled
This is the section Maharashtra parents most need, and part of it applies whether your child is in a state board, CBSE or ICSE school.
Marathi - settled. The Maharashtra Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Marathi Language in Schools Act, 2020 - Maharashtra Act No. 3 of 2020, enacted on 9 March 2020 - requires Marathi to be taught as a compulsory subject from Standard 1 to Standard 10 in every school in the state, whatever its board or medium, phased in year by year from the 2020-21 academic year. A September 2024 government directive confirmed Marathi as a compulsory, non-graded core subject with strict implementation from the 2025-26 academic year, and the state has warned of financial penalties and threatened the affiliation of CBSE and CISCE schools that do not comply. This is not a state-board-only rule - it reaches into Mumbai and Pune's biggest CBSE and ICSE names as much as into any Marathi-medium municipal school.
Hindi and the third language - still being settled. In April 2025 the state government issued a Government Resolution making Hindi the compulsory third language from Standard 1 to Standard 5 in English- and Marathi-medium State Board schools, citing NEP 2020's three-language formula and the 2024 State Curriculum Framework. It triggered a sustained public backlash. The government first said, on 22 April 2025, that it would drop the word "mandatory" from the order. On 17 June 2025 it issued a second GR making the third language optional among Indian languages, subject to a minimum of 20 students per grade choosing any one language. That still did not settle matters: ahead of the legislature's monsoon session, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that both the April and June GRs had been withdrawn entirely, and a committee headed by economist and former Rajya Sabha MP Dr Narendra Jadhav was set up to recommend how, and from which standard, the three-language formula should actually apply. No replacement policy had been finalised as of our most recent check - which is exactly the kind of live, moving position where the honest answer is to ask your own child's school what applies to Standard 1 to 5 this year, rather than trusting a 2025 headline.
Media of instruction. MSBSHSE recognises seven: Marathi, English, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Sindhi and Kannada. Many Marathi-medium schools also run a distinct Semi-English arrangement, enabled by a 2009 government resolution, in which Mathematics and Science are taught in English while the rest of the timetable stays in Marathi - a genuine middle path for families weighing a full switch to English medium.
What a Maharashtra primary child actually studies
Balbharati's own class-wise book lists show the shape clearly.
| Standard | Subjects |
|---|---|
| Standards 1 to 5 | First Language, Second Language (commonly English), Mathematics, EVS / Parisar Abhyas (one combined subject, published in two parts a year) |
| Standard 6 | First Language, English, Hindi or Third Language, Mathematics, General Science, History & Civics, Geography |
So EVS runs as one integrated subject all the way through Standard 5, then splits into three separate books from Standard 6 - not just Science and Social Science as in CBSE and Karnataka, but Social Science itself divided again into History & Civics and Geography. That is a genuinely finer split than most other boards use, and it means a Standard 6 child in Maharashtra is juggling three new subject books at once, not one.
A curriculum in transition. The state's School Education Department has approved the State Curriculum Framework (Basic Level) 2024 and (Advanced Level) 2024, prepared by MSCERT, aligning Maharashtra to NEP 2020's 5+3+3+4 structure. State Board schools have begun moving to an NCERT-aligned curriculum and books, starting with Standard 1 in the 2025-26 academic year and Standard 2 in 2026-27, with further standards due to follow year by year. On these newest books, EVS itself is being renamed - following NCERT's own newer titles - as The World Around Us. Practically, this means a family with children in different standards right now may see two different curricula side by side: the newer NCERT-aligned one in Standards 1 and 2, and the established Balbharati one described above everywhere else. Worth knowing before assuming an older and younger sibling's books should match.
The questions Maharashtra parents actually ask
"My child is in a CBSE school in Mumbai. Does she really have to learn Marathi?" Yes. The 2020 Marathi Act covers every school in the state. The government has mandated it as a compulsory, non-graded subject with penalties for non-complying schools—including CBSE and ICSE schools.
"Is Hindi compulsory in Standard 1 now?" Not at present. The policy has changed multiple times during 2025 alone. Two government resolutions attempted to mandate it, both were withdrawn. A state committee is still determining how the three-language formula will work. Ask your school directly what applies this year—don't rely on last year's information.
"What is Semi-English medium, and should we choose it?" It's a genuine, officially recognised option: a Marathi-medium school teaching Mathematics and Science in English under a 2009 government resolution, with the rest of the day in Marathi. It suits families wanting an English foothold in those two subjects without switching the full medium.
"We've moved from another state—will Standard 4 line up?" Expect EVS to remain a single subject in Maharashtra at Standard 4, where some boards have already separated it (ICSE divides at Class 3). The larger adjustment is usually Marathi itself if your child hasn't studied it, since it's compulsory in every Maharashtra school regardless of which board she's transferring from.
How we teach Maharashtra state board children
We don't teach a generic Maharashtra syllabus. We teach your child's actual Balbharati books in the medium your school uses, with state transitions built into our planning.
- Books first. Whether your school uses the newer NCERT-aligned Standard 1 or 2 books or the established Balbharati titles, classes work from what your child actually has.
- Marathi taken seriously. Where it's your child's compulsory subject, we treat it as one—not as an afterthought because the school happens to be CBSE or ICSE.
- EVS kept whole through Standard 5, then bridged deliberately into General Science, History & Civics and Geography from Standard 6, since that three-way split is sharper here than on most boards.
- Medium respected exactly, including Semi-English arrangements where Maths and Science run in English within an otherwise Marathi-medium day.
Fees are published on the fees page for both formats, with a free assessment before you commit.
How Maharashtra State Board students are actually taught here
We do not teach a board. We teach the books your school issued, in the sequence it is working through, with our own progression underneath so that gaps get caught even when the class moves on.
- Classes planned from the actual Balbharati book your child was issued, in the medium she studies in
- Marathi treated as the compulsory subject it now is everywhere in the state, not skipped because a school is CBSE or ICSE
- EVS kept as one subject through standard 5, then bridged toward General Science, History & Civics and Geography from standard 6
- Semi-English arrangements respected - Maths and Science taught in English where that is genuinely how the school runs it
- We are upfront that the third-language position is still being settled by the state, and check what your own school is doing this year rather than assuming last year's rule still holds
Rates for group and one-to-one classes are on the fees page, and there are free free online tests whether or not you ever book a class.
The other three, for comparison
Written the same way - from each body’s own published documents, and equally clear about what it does not decide.
Maharashtra State Board, honestly answered
Which body actually sets the Maharashtra state board syllabus?
MSCERT—the Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training—sets the curriculum and syllabus. Balbharati, the State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research, writes and publishes the textbooks. MSBSHSE, a separate body, has no curriculum or textbook role; it only conducts SSC and HSC exams.
Is there a Maharashtra board exam before Standard 10?
No. The MSBSHSE conducts the SSC examination at Standard 10 and the HSC examination at Standard 12, and conducts no earlier board exams. Any examination that your Standard 3, 4 or 5 child sits is set and marked by her own school, not by the board.
Is Marathi really compulsory in my child's CBSE or ICSE school?
Yes. The Maharashtra Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Marathi Language in Schools Act, 2020 requires Marathi as a compulsory subject from Standard 1 to 10 in every Maharashtra school, regardless of board or medium. A 2024 government directive confirmed it as a compulsory, ungraded core subject from 2025-26, and the state has issued warnings of penalties for schools, including CBSE and ICSE ones, that do not comply.
Is Hindi compulsory as a third language now?
This remains unsettled. In 2025, an attempt was made to require Hindi as the compulsory third language in Standards 1 to 5. The policy was announced, then scaled back, then made optional, and finally withdrawn entirely following public opposition. Currently, a state committee chaired by Dr Narendra Jadhav is reviewing how the three-language formula should work. Given how much this has shifted in just one year, ask your school directly what its plans are for this year rather than trusting outdated information.
What is Semi-English medium?
This is an officially recognised setup, made possible by a 2009 government resolution. A Marathi-medium school uses this approach when it teaches Mathematics and Science in English while conducting other subjects in Marathi. This is widespread in municipal and government schools in cities including Mumbai and Pune, offering a true compromise between exclusively Marathi-medium and exclusively English-medium schools.
When does EVS split into separate subjects in Maharashtra?
In Standard 6, science splits into three separate books: General Science, History & Civics, and Geography. In Standards 1 through 5, they run as one combined subject—either EVS or Parisar Abhyas depending on board. Standards 1 and 2 are currently transitioning to a newer, NCERT-aligned curriculum under the state's 2024 curriculum framework, so this pattern may shift for those standards as the reform expands to them.
Send us your child's book list. We plan around it.
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- Tell us the class, the board, and where it is going wrong.
- We find a teacher who has taught that exact thing, and offer a slot.
- A free 20-minute assessment - stay and watch if you would like to.
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